Experience Life at Moody Gardens, Galveston Island!

Work or play, the tropical splendor surrounds you in this little piece of paradise! Moody Gardens features a variety of unique attractions, a 4-diamond hotel, spa & convention center and an 18-hole seaside-links golf course.

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Stay connected with us for the latest updates, giveaways and exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Moody Gardens. Be sure to share your #MGMemories with us through pictures, videos or comments.

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Month: November 2012

Moody Gardens began as an extraordinary vision to create an island tourist destination. It has grown to become one of the premier education and leisure facilities in the Southwest, with approximately two million visitors annually.

1986: Moody Gardens began as a horse barn with a riding arena that provided a hippotherapy riding program for people with head injuries. The Hope Arena convention center was established, which later expanded and became the Moody Gardens Convention Center.

1988: White Florida sand was brought across the Gulf of Mexico to create Palm Beach. Seaside Safari opened and is now The Learning Place, home of our educational programs.

1990: The production area opened, which included two greenhouses used to propagate most of the plants seen on the ground for our Medicinal Plant Program.

1993: The famous Rainforest Pyramid opened its doors, featuring over 1,700 exotic plant and animal species from all over the world. The Garden Restaurant also started serving delicious food to our customers this year, and America’s first IMAX 3D Theater started showing films in the MG 3D Theater Complex.

1997: The Discovery Pyramid debuted with NASA-inspired exhibits.

1999: The family friendly accommodations and tranquil services of the Moody Gardens Hotel and Spa opened. The hotel is an architectural masterpiece featuring 428 rooms and over 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, dining, and a full service salon and spa. The 1.5 million-gallon Aquarium Pyramid opened as one of the largest aquariums in the world.

2004: The hotel gained a brand new 125-room wing, and the Exhibit Hall grew by 60,000 square feet.

2005: The 4D Special FX Theater opened, creating a totally new way to experience the movies.

2008: After a $16 million renovation to the Galveston Municipal Golf Course, the Moody Gardens Golf Course opened, becoming the premier golf course of Galveston.

At the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid, you can experience one of the most authentic rainforest recreations in the world. The ten-story glass pyramid features over one thousand exotic plants and animals from the rainforests of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. A recent $25 million enhancement project has improved the attraction, making it more realistic and bringing you closer than ever to a true rainforest experience.

As part of the enhancement project, a new walkway was built in the Rainforests of the World, which overlooks the endangered giant Amazon River otter exhibit. The unique walkway leads you into the pyramid at the canopy level. In the canopy level you can explore the rainforest from above, allowing you to get closer to the free-roaming tree-dwellers of the rainforest such as birds, sloths, white-faced saki monkeys, and cotton-top tamarins.

Featured in the canopy walkway is one of the most famous attractions in Moody Gardens: the butterfly exhibit. Several species of beautiful butterflies flutter around you as you wander through.

The next part of your journey takes you to the cloud forests, which are considered nature’s water towers. Observe the colorful frogs and artifacts from people of the rainforest before heading down to the rainforest floor. The nocturnal exhibit on the rainforest floor is home to a prehensile-tailed porcupine, African palm civet, and other creatures that only venture out after dark.

On the rainforest floor you will also discover plants and animals from the Asian rainforest, such as the carnivorous pitcher plant, colorful orchids and fish, and two Chinese alligators.

The rainforests of Central and South America are filled with colorful macaws, a spotted ocelot, and a flowing waterfall! You can also learn about the smells and spices of rainforest food in the interactive exhibit. Tour the Mayan ruins, home to a giant anaconda, piranha, caiman lizards, and even vampire bats!

The final stop on your Rainforest Pyramid adventure is down the Africa trail where you can marvel at the spider plant, giant windowpane palm, and the dead rat tree. Don’t worry; there aren’t actually dead rats in the tree! On your way out, you’ll be able to experience the ground-dwellers of the rainforest, including a Daramaland mole rat, Brazilian rainbow boa, and a cobalt blue tarantula!

Life can be a little hectic, even when you’re on vacation. Treat yourself with a visit to the Spa at Moody Gardens! Our professional and caring staff can liven your senses, restore your body, and ease your mind with tropical fragrances and ocean elixirs. You can’t help but feel relaxed among the enchanting pyramids and botanical beauty.

The Spa at Moody Gardens offers a wide variety of ways to pamper yourself, from couple’s massages to skin care and hair services. Choose from:

Packages

Bridal Packages

Massage Therapy

Skin Care

Hydrotherapy

Body Exfoliation

Body Wraps

Waxing Services

Nail Care

Hair Services

Makeup

Whether you are choosing a gift for a friend or taking a little time for yourself, we have something for everyone! We suggest you try our hydrotherapy! The belvedere hydrotherapy tub has 147 jets that are designated to systematically detoxify and massage your body. You can choose from four different exciting hydrotherapy options.

One of our most popular spa services is massage therapy. For a limited time, when you buy one Swedish massage, you’ll get a second one free! Enjoy two fifty-minute sessions of the relaxing full-body massage for the price of one! You can also choose from three of our massage therapy upgrades:

Aromatherapy: An aroma of your choice is mixed into the massage cream for a relaxing scent experience.

We arrived in Subic Bay at about 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, after a 43-hour door-to-door adventure that re-routed us through Los Angeles and Seoul, Korea.

However, our checked luggage went on the original routing through Honolulu and Guam, and didn’t arrive until 1 a.m. on Saturday. With a little rough beginning, we had the entire team assembled at noon on Friday, Nov. 9, and began the real work.

The project team includes Roy Drinnen and Greg Whittaker from Moody Gardens, Dirk Peterson from SECORE.org, Bart Shepherd from California Academy of Science, Eric Hovland from Florida Aquarium, and Bianca Espinos and Jonathon Apurado from Ocean Adventure.

Friday afternoon was spent snorkeling the shallow reefs adjacent to the Camayan Beach Resort and Nabasan Point. We were discouraged as there was evidence of significant environmental stress in both areas and the reef closest to the resort was mostly dead and covered in algae.

We concluded that the heavy typhoon season’s high tides, large waves and heavy rains had caused silt deposition over large areas of reef. Those that were shallow and had poor water flow were not able to recover, and once the corals died back the algae quickly took over.

Saturday was spent diving the deeper reefs off Nabasan Point, Tago Beach and Grande Island. We also surveyed the artificial habitat created by the polyethylene tensar net system that encloses the massive marine mammal complex.

Everyone was much more optimistic after seeing the conditions of the reefs in these zones as the coral condition and diversity indicated the environmental conditions were suited to maintaining them.

Experience the beauty of the North Pacific, South Pacific, South Atlantic, and Caribbean with a visit to the ten-story blue-glass aquarium building. This incredible attraction features 1.5 million gallons of water and more than ten thousand marine animals. The Aquarium Pyramid is divided into four regions, each representing a different area of the oceanic world.

Caribbean Exhibit

The Caribbean Exhibit is the largest of the four. It features sharks, sea turtles, eels, and thousands of beautiful tropical fish that swim overhead as you wander through an underwater tunnel. The tunnel completely surrounds guests and is filled with one million gallons of water.

South Atlantic Exhibit

The penguins of Moody Gardens reside in this area of the pyramid! The South Atlantic Exhibit is designed to closely resemble the rocky beaches of the South Georgia Islands. You can view the penguins from both above and below the surface. With our Penguin Encounter program you can even get up close with the penguin residents and take home some of their fabulous artwork.

North Pacific Exhibit

The furry seals reside in the North Pacific Exhibit. Watch as they play on the rocky shore and dive into the water. A few feet away, you can watch the sea urchins, anemones, and other colorful marine creatures in the tide pool. A kelp forest houses the rich and diverse underwater world representing Northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.

South Pacific Exhibit

Go on a journey through the depths of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea! The South Pacific Exhibit features a tide pool with vibrant sea anemones and sea urchins. In the lower level, you can see more than 200 species of fish, stingrays, and sharks in their beautiful underwater environment.

New Exhibit: Sharks in Depth

The newest exhibit at the Moody Gardens explores shark fact versus fiction, shark anatomy, and shark behavior through hands-on activities. Learn how sharks survive, how they sense their pray, and what threats there are to the shark population. This exhibit is better than Shark Week! With an Aquarium Pyramid Shark Passport, you can learn to identify shark species from around the world.

If you’re looking for holiday events in Texas, visit Galveston! Moody Gardens offers some of the finest holiday events around. One of our most extravagant events is our New Year’s Eve Gala, which has become known as one of the best places to be during New Year’s Eve in the Houston and Galveston area. This New Year’s Eve, the Moody Gardens Convention Center will be transformed into a modern winter wonderland fit for only the most lavish affair.

This year’s Gala will once again feature Commercial Art, one of Houston’s most popular party bands. Commercial Art is sought after by all of Houston because of their eclectic mix of music. They offer everything from vintage rock and 40’s swing to classic soul and modern hits. With the great entertainment on hand, this New Year’s Eve Gala will be quite the party.

However, if you’re also looking for a romantic night for two, the Gala’s sophisticated setting is the perfect place. Moody Gardens will be offering an elaborate array of food, and of course an open bar. For added extravagance, don’t forget to take part in our champagne toast. Finally, ring in 2013 with our midnight balloon drop.

Tickets are on sale for $425 per couple or $225 per single. Don’t forget to make your reservations at the Moody Gardens Hotel; accommodations begin at $109 plus tax per night, with the purchase of a Gala ticket. For reservations, call 888-388-8484. Call now so you don’t miss out on the party of the year!

If you can’t make it for our New Year’s celebration, be sure to check out our other Galveston and Houston holiday events. We offer a Festival of Lights that offers more than 1 million lights in 100 animated light displays. While there, be sure to stop by our Festival of Lights Buffet. For more family fun, visit our Magical Christmas Dinner and Show starring Master Illusionist Curt Miller and Friends. Get your tickets here. Finally don’t forget to take advantage of our outdoor ice skating rink and visits with Santa! At Moody Gardens, there’s holiday fun awaiting the whole family!

Are you looking for family weekend getaways in Texas? Come experience the best that Galveston has to offer at Moody Gardens! We give you a piece of paradise and the opportunity to experience all that nature has to offer. Start planning your visit now, including a trip to the Aquarium Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, Discovery Museum, and Festival of Lights. If you want to experience nature on film, in 3D, you can’t miss the Moody Gardens 3D Theater!

What is the MG 3D Theater?

Our theater offers a larger-than-life picture on a six-story screen and incredible surround sound. At our 3D theater, every seat is the best seat in the house. Your 3D glasses will provide you with incredibly realistic images that you want to reach out and grab. If you love nature, we offer movies about everything from the ocean to the rainforest.

What Do We Offer?

Our shows reach into the depths of nature in a way no theater has achieved before. In our 3D theater, you become part of the action while images fill your peripheral vision. While watching, you literally feel like you’re deep in the rainforest or the depths of the ocean. This is an experience of a lifetime. Also, you and your family can enjoy this amazing experience for a great price:

Adults: $10.95

Children (4–12): $8.95

Seniors (65+): $8.95

We’re open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., so put us on your list next time you visit the Moody Gardens!

The Moody Gardens is an educational destination that will allow you and your family to reach out to nature. We offer year-round attractions and seasonal events. At Moody Gardens, there’s something for everyone! Start planning your next family vacation today! For more information, check out our website: www.moodygardens.com.

Moody Gardens is the perfect place to visit on your family weekend getaways in Texas. There is so much to do at Moody Gardens that it’s impossible to fit all the fun into one day! Not only are the year-round attractions incredible, but we also have seasonal fun depending on what time of the year you visit. You can’t skip visiting the Moody Gardens Aquarium Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, 3D Theater, and more!

Aquarium Pyramid: The Aquarium Pyramid is the largest pyramid at Moody Gardens. It houses four distinct ocean environments. When wandering through this big blue pyramid, you and your family will be entertained and entranced by the five species of penguins, the furry seals, and the famous Squirt, our blind sea lion. The colorful fish and coral reefs are nature’s art at its finest. Watch the sharks, sea turtles, eels, and tropical fish swim all around you as you walk through an underwater tunnel!

Rainforest Pyramid: A major enhancement project has allowed guests to experience the Rainforest Pyramid in a whole new way! You can now walk through an entry that overlooks a new Amazon River otter exhibit. A new treetop path leads you through the canopy level of the pyramid, allowing you to explore and see the monkeys, sloths, and other tree-dwellers closer than ever. Don’t forget to surround yourself with beautiful butterfly species in the butterfly exhibit. There are ten stories of rainforest magic to explore!

Moody Gardens Theaters. Choose from three different theaters, giving you three different experiences. At the MG 3D Theater you can enjoy larger-than-life images projected onto the largest movie screen in Texas. The Ridefilm combines both ride and a film, and the 4D Special FX Theater allows you to see, hear, feel, and smell the action with special effects such as wind, smoke, mist, leg ticklers, and seat buzzers!

Want to throw your kid an awesome birthday party? Do you not have enough time to plan and organize the party? Then Moody Gardens is perfect for you! We do the planning, setup, and cleanup! All you have to worry about is your kid having a fantastic time!

Each birthday party package includes a birthday cake, punch, paper goods, a party favor for each guest, twenty-four invitations, and a visit to one attraction. On top of all this great birthday fun, you choose from four exciting themes.

Wild Things: Aquarium. This package includes entry for your guests into the Aquarium Pyramid. Party guests get to dive into an ocean adventure and have a fun-filled animal encounter on your child’s special day.

Wild Things: Rainforest. Take the birthday party to the rainforest! Party guests get to meet the animals of the rainforest in a special animal presentation. The package includes entry into the Rainforest Pyramid for all your guests.

Beach Bash (seasonal). For summer parties, soak up the sun as your guests spend the day floating along the lazy river at Palm Beach. Entry into Palm Beach for your guests is included in the package.

Festival of Lights (seasonal). Celebrate your child’s birthday among the millions of lights at the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights. This package includes entry to the Festival of Lights and is only available at 6:00 p.m. because the sparkling lights can’t be appreciated in the daylight!

Reservations are required at least two weeks in advance, and packages are available for children turning a maximum of twelve years old. Parties are limited to two hours; however, visits to the designated attraction may extend beyond party time. Parties are available daily at 10:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m. for a maximum of thirty-two guests.

Party Package Prices are for up to twenty-four guests, including adults. However, you may have additional guests for $8.00 a person.

Earlier this month, members of the Moody Gardens animal care team traveled to the Philippines to begin a conservation partnership with a marine aquarium facility in Subic Bay.

The project partners Moody Gardens with a nonprofit organization known as Wildlife In Need (WIN). This project pairs resources with conservation needs in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.

WIN is the nonprofit arm of Ocean Adventure, Southeast Asia’s only open water marine park. It is nestled between one of Luzon’s only remaining intact primary growth rainforests and a marine-protected area that includes two small bays on the southern shore of the mouth of Subic Bay.

There are three primary goals for the trip – to formalize a Memorandum of Understanding, develop a coral reef conservation program, and explore terrestrial conservation opportunities.

The Moody Gardens team is working with additional field conservation partners including the California Academy of Science, the Florida Aquarium and SECORE.org to design a land-based coral nursery lab, and begin long term coral reef habitat monitoring as the first step towards active restoration work.

Following the trip, Moody Gardens’ staff will provide direct and in-kind support, as well as technical assistance, in building the coral nursery lab. Their ultimate goal is to establish a facility similar to the SECORE lab at the Curacao Sea Aquarium. It will support technical workshops and regional reef restoration efforts at the same time that it serves a public education role as an aquarium exhibit.

Please refer back to the Moody Gardens blog for updates from the field.